How to send iMessages on IPhone or iPad

With iMessage you can send all kinds of messages to all kinds of people. You can send standard SMS/MMS (text/multimedia messages) to anyone, on any phone, and you can send data-based text, photo, video, and audio messages to anyone on any Apple device. You can also share your location immediately, or for a certain amount of time.

How to tell if you're sending an iMessage or an SMS/MMS

Apple's built-in Messages app can send both carrier-based SMS/MMS to any phone and data-based iMessages to any other Apple device. To make it easy to tell the two apart — and so that you know what might be charged as SMS/MMS vs. part of your data package – Apple color-codes all your messages.

Blue is for iMessage. Any time you're on Wi-Fi or using cellular data, and you send a message from your Apple device to another Apple device, it'll be contained in a blue bubble.

Green is for SMS/MMS. Any time you're on the cellular network and sending to another mobile phone, it'll be contained in a green bubble.

If iMessage is offline, your iPhone may try to send over SMS/MMS, so keep an eye on it if you want to avoid charges, especially international charges outside of any texting plan you might have.

How to send a text message using iMessage on iPhone or iPad

If you've ever sent an SMS message, you already know how to send an iMessage. If you're brand new to the iPhone or iPad, here's how it's done: